Sections
Log in
Top News
U.S. News World News Featured Voices
Odd News
Entertainment
Movies Music TV
Sports
Soccer NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Horse Racing Tennis Col. Football Col. Basketball
Photos
News Entertainment Sports Features Archives
More...
Defense Featured Science Health Archive Almanac
About Feedback
About Feedback
Search
Trending
Haiti
SeaWorld rescue
Bernie Sanders
Karl Lagerfeld
Super moon
National emergency
Winter storm
Children slain
Shin Lim
EPA
Smurfs
Science News
Aug. 6, 2018 / 12:47 PM

Fossils suggest Alaska served as superhighway for migrating dinosaurs

"This study helps support the idea that Alaska was the gateway for dinosaurs as they migrated between Asia and North America," said researcher Yoshitsugu Kobayashi.

By
Brooks Hays
Newly unearthed fossils provided the first North American co-occurrence of hadrosaur and therizinosaur dinosaurs. Photo by Masato Hattori/Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- New fossils suggest hadrosaurs and therizinosaurs migrated between Central Asia and North America 100 million years ago.

The ancient dinosaur remains, dated to the Late Cretaceous, were recovered from the Cantwell Formation in Alaska's Denali National Park. The discovery marked the first time hadrosaur and therizinosaur bones have been found together in North America.

Hadrosaurs, known as duck-bill dinosaurs, were abundant in what is now Alaska, but therizinosaurs, unusual, long-necked herbivores, are most associated with Central Asia.

"Hadrosaurs are very common and found all over Denali National Park," Anthony Fiorillo, chief curator and vice president of research and collections at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas, said in a news release. "Previously, they had not been found alongside therizinosaurs in Denali."

RELATED Paleontologists unearth world's largest dinosaur foot

The duo have been found together in Asia, but never before in North America.

"In Mongolia, where therizinosaurs are best known -- though no footprints have been found in association -- skeletons of hadrosaurs and therizinosaurs have been found to co-occur from a single rock unit so this was a highly unusual find in Alaska, and it prompted my interest," Fiorillo said. "From our research, we've determined that this track association of therizinosaurs and hadrosaurs is currently the only one of its kind in North America."

In addition to studying the fossil co-occurrence, a team of sedimentologists, geologists, paleobotanists and paleoecologists characterized Alaska's habitat during the Late Cretaceous. Their findings -- published this month in the journal Nature Communications -- suggest parts of Denali offered wet, marsh-like environments, similar to the types of habitat where hadrosaurs and therizinosaurs congregated in Asia.

RELATED Egyptian sauropod reveals ancient link between Africa, Europe

"This study helps support the idea that Alaska was the gateway for dinosaurs as they migrated between Asia and North America," said Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, researcher from Hokkaido University Museum.

The discovery could help scientists connect other species with similar habitat preferences.

"This discovery provides more evidence that Alaska was possibly the superhighway for dinosaurs between Asia and western North America 65 to 70 million years ago," said Fiorillo.

RELATED Dozens of sauropod footprints found on Scottish coast

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more UPI news and photos.

Trending Stories

Watch February's super snow moon, year's brightest
Satellite images reveal magma chambers beneath Bali's Agung volcano
Machine learning-based discoveries still need to be checked by humans
Indigenous hunters improve health of food webs in Australian desert
Geologists use tide gauge measurements to track tremors

Photo Gallery

 
Balloons take flight at Al-Ula Balloon Festival in Saudi Arabia

Latest News

Warriors' Draymond Green proposes to girlfriend on a yacht
Blackhawks' Alex DeBrincat tallies hat trick in high-scoring game
Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic prevents goal with controversial stick save
Kevin Garnett says Team USA had $1M dunk bounty on Yao Ming
'The Newsroom': Aaron Sorkin shuts down reboot rumors
 
Back to Article
/
Back to top
About UPI Contact Feedback Advertisements Submit News Tips
Copyright © 2019 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy